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Wine in Burgundy, Beaujolais wines

The Beaujolais region covers a 34 mile stretch from the south of Burgundy to as far as Lyon. It produces more than twice as much wine as Burgundy. Gamay is the only black grape grown in Beaujolais. There is a little white Beaujolais produced but almost all is red.

Beaujolais region

The region is divided into:

Beaujolais - the biggest area comprising wine from non-designated villages and within the broad Beaujolais region.

Beaujolais-Viillage - wines from 39 villages excluding the following Crus.

The Cru Villages: there are ten villages, each having its own appellation rules. Wine characteristics vary between Crus largely because of the soil types.

Brouilly - the largest Cru producing the most robust wines. Wines are deep ruby in color with notes of soft fruits, plums and peaches.

Cote de Brouilly - the granite slopes give added complexity that requires a little more bottle ageing. Violet colored with notes of irises and fresh grapes.

Chenas - perhaps the least known and smallest Cru. Floral, woody notes and one that is recommended for laying down.

Chiroubles - light and elegant with notes of peonies, lily of the valley and violets.

Fleurie - often said to be the most feminine of the Crus with velvet smoothness and notes of irises, violets, rose petals, peaches, blackcurrants and red berries.

Julienas - Notes of peaches, cherries and strawberries and with a more sinewy character.

Morgon - a fuller wine, deep in color and notes of ripe cherries, peaches, apricots and plums. Benefits from a few years ageing.

Moulin a Vent - probably ages longest of all the Crus. Notes of irises, rose petals, ripe fruits and spice.

Regnie - the most recently designated Cru and perhaps the lightest of all the wines. Notes of redcurrants, blackberries and raspberries.

Saint Amour - the most northerly Cru producing a delicate, refined wine with notes of raspberries, peaches, cherries and spice.

The wine is produced using the Carbonic Maceration method. This involves the whole bunches of grapes being sealed in vats and then subjected to oxygen which results in fermentation of the un-pressed berries. This fast fermentation process involves less tannin contact and greater preservation of the fruit notes.

Although Beaujolais is meant to be drunk young, many wines are capable of considerable ageing, although in doing so they tend to lose the characteristic Beaujolais freshness and move closer to Pinot Noir characteristics.

Beaujolais has lost much of its popularity but the region remains capable of producing very attractive, easy drinking wines, ideal for the summer. The reasons for declining popularity are not hard to find:

Beaujolais Nouveau is a key factor. In the early 1950’s places such as the UK mainly drank white wine and the somewhat tannic reds were an acquired taste. Beaujolais Nouveau, launched in 1951, was an easy transition for consumers from white to red wine. Beaujolais Nouveau was an undoubted marketing success and created excitement when the wine was released each year, on the 3rd Thursday in November. For the producer it was an opportunity to sell inexpensively produced wine from marginal growing areas at a premium price. The minimal maturation and storage time also gave tremendous cash flow. Only grapes grown in Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages could be used for Beaujolais Nouveau. At its peak, Nouveau represented 50 of all Beaujolais sales - it is now around 33. For the consumer, Beaujolais Nouveau made wine buying easy...you simply had to ask for the Beaujolais.
The rapid Beaujolais Nouveau timetable did not allow for quality and most wine was more akin to juice rather than wine. As wine tastes developed and more alternatives became available interest in Nouveau has continued to decline.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau are often seen by consumers as the same.

The decline of Beaujolais has been further exacerbated by high prices (and relatively low prices from New World wines). Beaujolais producers may argue that all the grapes are hand picked and therefore costs are higher but it carries less and less weight. Rather than become more efficient and competitive many growers have simply increased their prices. 2003 was a vintage year for Beaujolais but major growers priced themselves out of the UK market (Majestic refused to pay the regional leader, Georges Duboeuf, the asking price for the 2003 vintage thus depriving the UK market of the opportunity to try Beaujolais at its best).

Beaujolais producers are facing something of a crisis and serious consideration is being given to its future. Options include planting varieties other than Gamay and producing different styles of wine some of which would mirror current consumer fashions. Under consideration is an appellation scheme that would grade different producers (Grand Cru etc). Currently there is wide variation in quality within every part of Beaujolais.

Simplification would certainly be a help...the New World has shown the importance of this In an age when many consumers buy a varietal (Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz etc) and have some expectation of its characteristics, how many know about Gamay? There would seem to be an argument for communicating more the essence of Beaujolais rather than trying to maintain that there are big differences within it. The reality is that many of the characteristics claimed for each part of the region are often difficult to detect and may be less evident than differences between producers from the same area. I see labels that define their characteristics differently to what might be led to expect from that region. A case for simplifying and building consumer confidence.

The current message remains confusing..... wine from Beaujolais-Villages is better than Beaujolais but neither is as good as the more expensive Crus which are different from each other and rarely available on the same shelf.

However, the above issues aside, wine from the region can be an ideal summer wine. Light fruity, greater acidity and goes well with a wide range of summer foods. Served slightly chilled it can be a very refreshing wine.


Arthur Till has been interested in the fruits of the vine for many years and shares his enthusiasm for wine with others through wine appreciation courses, a wine group and the tours he organizes.

Have an overview to wine in Burgundy, or, if you have thirst for knowledge, unravel Burgundy completely, including details on Beaujolais wines and Chablis wine.

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